TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan signed an investment promotion and protection agreement with Thailand following more than two years of talks, the government said on Friday (June 28).

The accord was the fifth such bilateral deal for Taiwan since 2016, per CNA. Previous signatories of such agreements with Taiwan include the Philippines, India, Vietnam, and Canada. Thailand is one of 18 nations in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Oceania targeted by Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy.

A previous investment-related agreement, signed in 1996, was no longer up-to-date with today’s trading environment and international investment practices, according to the Office of Trade Negotiations at the Executive Yuan. Under the new deal, Taiwan and Thailand will form a joint committee, improve dispute resolution practices, and provide more transparent investment information.

Annual bilateral trade surged to US$16.24 billion (NT$526.69 billion) in 2023 from the US$9.3 billion recorded at the start of the New Southbound Policy in 2016, an increase of 74.6%. Over the same period, bilateral investment between the two nations more than doubled from US$3.18 billion to US$6.99 billion.